Report Urges Internet Expansion for Rural Texas.

Nov. 20--If the Internet were a highway, most of rural Texas would be on a country road miles from the nearest interstate.

A report released this week says that although some rural areas are better connected to the Internet today than a few years ago, most lag behind metropolitan regions in broadband connections that allow higher-speed data transmissions.

The state should help spur the deployment of high-speed Internet access in rural areas by giving incentives to telecommunications companies, supporting group-purchasing efforts and expanding economic development assistance, the Texas Public Utility Commission said in a draft report released Thursday.

Economists say Internet connections are becoming as important to a region's success as capital and skilled labor. Companies are increasingly trading their wares and services online and need fatter pipes to receive and transmit information.

"There's just this widespread recognition that they have not kept pace," said Ray Perryman, president of the Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic research and consulting firm. "The rural heritage of Texas is somewhat in jeopardy."

Commission officials will present the final report to the Texas Legislature when it convenes in January. Commissioners have asked staff to add more information and analysis to the document.

The PUC will try to persuade lawmakers to enact policies that will speed up the deployment of high-speed connections. Some of these include: